MOCS 2013 Profiles,Part 3

Wizards of the CoastMonday, March 24, 2014

e're down to the wire, and the Magic Online Championship Series is only days away! Without further ado, here are the final five participants in the 2013 finals.

Cory J. Lack (cjlack92) Substitute Teacher—Boston, MA

When did you start playing Magic Online? About a month after I started Magic itself. Going to school in Vermont meant that if I wanted to play in anything larger than an FNM, I'd need to go up to Montreal or trek back to Boston. I'd also heard the best players could be found on Magic Online, and for as long as I can remember, if I wanted to do something, I wanted to be good at it. And I wanted to be good at Magic, so I signed up for Magic Online.

What other Magic results do you have? I won the Vermont State Championship in 2012! Other than that, I don't really have any accomplishments playing paper Magic. I've only played in two (I think) Grand Prix, and only a couple PTQs as well. I like playing paper Magic, but the places I've lived since starting the game require traveling, and having done it for Yu-Gi-Oh for four years, I'd become tired of it. On Magic Online, I've Top 8ed three of the PTQs, the most recent being the Modern Masters one held in September. Prior to winning the Cube Sealed MOCS, I'd Top 4ed the Standard one in February with a really awesome WBR deck that I called Surgeon Generals. The name came from the main-deck Gloom Surgeons and a variety of legendary creatures. Good times.

What is your BEST format and why? I'm gonna go with Pauper, even though it's not the same as it used to be. I think it's a really fascinating format and I think it's a shame it's not given more attention. The design of commons is so drastically different than in years past, and seeing them all played together makes for some interesting and powerful stuff. However, I was incredibly upset when Temporal Fissure was banned instead of Cloud of Faeries, as Temporal Fissure isn't the piece of the puzzle generating infinite mana and allowing you to draw your entire deck. It's frustrating, because it felt like a kneejerk decision, when, conceptually, Pauper is a great format that a lot of people love. It's one of the reasons I became interested in Magic Online in the first place, and it's also one of the few formats exclusive to the program. Sorry if I'm standing on a soapbox here, but it's my favorite format and I'd love to see it flourish.

What thought ran through your head as soon as you realized you were going to the Magic Online Championship? It was a slow burn, but eventually I was ecstatic. It felt like I'd completely justified my decision to play Magic in the first place.

How are you preparing for the Magic Online Championship? Who are you practicing with? I'm still just testing with the same friends I've been playing with for years. We're all pals, and I trust their input. I think testing with people with whom you've built a rapport is more effective than testing with people who are technically "better."

What is one fact about you that might surprise people? I'm the guy who made the @SeinfeldMagic account.

What is your spirit animal? Alf.

Tamás Glied (MAZUKU94) Professional Magic Player—Budapest, Hungary

Where did you or are you going to school? After I finished my high school I went to university, but I want to become a Magic pro, so now I'll give it a try for a year.

When did you start playing Magic? When I was around twelve (2007), I played with my classmate, and I went to a local store. I started taking Magic seriously after my first Nationals, which I made Top 8 when I was fifteen.

What other Magic results do you have? We made Top 4 at the first World Magic Cup with team Hungary. Two GP Top 16. PT Top 75 and two times Top 50. I have two Top 8s at Nationals, too.

Favorite format to play and why? My favorite formats are any kind of Limited. The only one I dislike is Cube, because it's not a competitive format.

What guild are you? Simic.

What is your biggest Magic weakness? I hate losing. I just feel very desperate when I lose, so I try to avoid it. I have kinda limited time to make big progress with my career in Magic, then I have quite the pressure.

What would winning the Magic Online Championship mean to you? Everything. I mean my dream would come true.

What format do you think you will do BEST at and why?Theros Block Draft, I went 5–1 at PT Born of the Gods, and made Top 16 at GP Barcelona, so I'm prepared.

Where did you or are you going to school? I study in Ceske Budejovice, currently last year of high school.

How big is your family? I have divorced parents and two amazing older sisters.

When did you start playing Magic? I started playing seven years ago, when I entered our high school. In Czech Republic, Magic is really popular in many school, but usually the kids stop playing after couple of months and so did my classmates.

When did you start playing on Magic Online? Three years ago. I was bored during Christmas break and was watching LSV's videos on ChannelFireball. It looked like a lot of fun, so one day I decided to make an account. I borrowed some tickets from my friend, built WW in Pauper (the cheapest deck), started winning, and now here I am.

What other Magic results do you have? I was 10th at GP Amsterdam 2011. Been to PT twice. Top 8ed multiple PTQs (Magic Online and real life).

How many hours a week do you think you spend on Magic Online? Around twenty.

What is your favorite Magic card and why? Daze. Beautiful art and unique function. Also won me a lot of games in Legacy.

What thought ran through your head as soon as you realized you were going to the Magic Online Championship? That I finally accomplished something in this game. That I can show my parents and friends that it is just not some stupid hobby but actually something worth playing. Also I was extremely happy that I can go back to the Pro Tour even though that did not work out as I would have liked.

How are you preparing for the Magic Online Championship? Who are you practicing with? Basically by playing a lot. I start by testing Standard because I have a PTQ in Czech Republic two weeks before the Championship and I will save Cube testing for when it will be back online. I am practicing with my closest friends Petr Sochurek (16th in the last PT), Stanislav Cifka, and Lucas Blohon.

What is one fact about you that might surprise people? My good looks. :)

What is your spirit animal? Something really lazy and stupid—sloth, I guess?

When did you start playing Magic? In 1998. A very close friend, Daniel Regen, discovered the game during our last year at elementary school. He bought a Portal: Second Age two-player starter set and we were instantly hooked by just how the cards and the artworks looked. Soon we discovered that there were several thousand more cards and that a new set (Urza's Saga) just came out, and from there on a very hard addiction started. ;) (Although we took several breaks off the game.)

Favorite draft format and why? Cube, of course; I like drafting me some overpowered cards and play again with old Standard, Extended, and Legacy favorites, which just wouldn't cut it these days.

Next to Cube I rank the formats that remind me of my early days of Magic—Mirage, Tempest and Urza blocks. Being able to play with them always evokes some warm feeling of nostalgia in me.

What is your favorite Magic card and why? Survival of the Fittest; it's just my favorite card in Cube. I would also wish to see it unbanned in Legacy again, the format is just totally different than what it used to be; nowadays Survival would seem rather fair compared to Show and Tell and some cards have been printed that are naturally good against Survival, like Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay.

What would winning the Magic Online Championship mean to you? The world. Championships!

Who do you live with? Girlfriend, another roommate, a ferret, a snake, a chameleon, and a giant tortoise.

What hobbies do you have aside from Magic? Gaming in all its forms. Any activity that involves winning without having to leave your chair.

When did you start playing Magic? I was seven years old in 1994, right after Fourth Edition came out. My babysitter, who had moved to Texas a few months prior, sent me a starter set, which had two starter decks and a rulebook, with a note saying ,"I found this game, I really think you would like it!" I had no real idea how to play, so my friends and I basically made up the rules, and I have been playing ever since.

When did you start playing on Magic Online? I have been playing Magic Online since the original beta. I remember walking home from high school and being so excited to be able to get home and play Magic from my house, because before that, I had to rely on my parents to drive me to tournaments!

What other Magic results do you have? Nothing terribly impressive. I have won two PTQs (made Day Two at Pro Tour Paris with a sweet Overwhelming Stampede deck I made, and horrifically scrubbed out of Pro Tour San Diego with a Notion Thief/Whispering Madness deck that couldn't beat decks with Ætherling, which was all of them). I am cursed with the compulsion to only play decks I make myself. Well, other than the one I won the MOCS with...

Favorite draft format and why? Definitely Cube draft. It's like Legacy, but you have to cobble a deck together out of gum and shoelaces.

What thought ran through your head as soon as you realized you were going to the Magic Online Championship? I yelled a lot, out loud. Which I never do. Scared the hell out of my family! I have actually never been so excited in my life. Nearly two decades of playing finally paid off

What would winning the Magic Online Championship mean to you? It would mean that my opponents were horribly unprepared!

How are you preparing for the Magic Online Championship? Who are you practicing with? I am going to be incredibly unprepared. I am trying to find time to do at least a draft a day, but unfortunately, being a first-year teacher takes up a ridiculous amount of my time. I'm not really practicing with anyone. Ari C is helping me prepare but he's as busy as I am.

What is one fact about you that might surprise people? My current plan is to live on a self-sustaining farm/commune situation in about four years with my best friend. We just bought the land for it!

What is your spirit animal? Definitely ferret. Does dumb things for the fun of it, with absolutely no regard for its own safety